Half of us ‘can’t just sit and think’ without checking smartphones

According to a new study the average Briton checks an internet-connected device 34 times a day (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Could you sit and wait 15 minutes for the bus or put up with a few seconds of silence during a conversation without having to claw your phone out of your pocket to keep you entertained?

According to a new study, more than half of us can’t.

In a report published by the Internet Advertising Bureau, Brits are increasingly glued to their smartphones in a trend that shows absolutely no signs of abating.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents said that they would rather check their smartphones during downtime ‘rather than just sit and think’ and this figure increases to 62 per cent in 18-30 year olds.

The average person uses ‘some form of internet-connected device’ 34 times a day and amasses a total of two hours and 12 minutes wedded to them.

The independent agency surveyed 1,350 smartphone users to collate the data, as well as trawling through 700 hours of recorded footage from people who were clipped up to a FishEye camera.

More than half of us claim to need to dive onto our smartphone when there’s a bit of ‘downtime’ (Picture: AFP/Getty)

The personal camera took a picture every five seconds over a three-day period, and showed how many of the volunteers would use at least two devices – sometimes three – at any given time.

If there’s a lull in conversation with friends 37 per cent of people admitted to finding solace in their smartphone, while 44 per cent said that using it makes their commute more enjoyable.

‘People’s inability to leave their phones alone is the newest addition to common ‘displacement’ behaviours such as smoking, doodling, fiddling with objects and picking at food. It’s also an extension of ‘nomophobia’ – the fear of being without your mobile,’ said Dr Simon Hampton, psychology lecturer at the University of East Anglia.

‘Rather than do nothing we’re compelled to turn to them for reassuring comfort.’

It also helps the cause of a satirical campaign for Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary which introduced the term phubbing – ‘the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead of paying attention’.